


i could never be ready

by Control_Room



Series: The Big Picture [6]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Babysitting, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage, Pre-studio, happy with an angst ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 03:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20650145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Control_Room/pseuds/Control_Room
Summary: Johan is babysitting for little girl Josie.





	i could never be ready

**Author's Note:**

> Answering an ask on tumblr.

Out by the carlot, there are three bright souls at a house. Two are inside, and one is out, but about to enter. After a soft, hesitant knock, the door opens to reveal a tall and lithe teenager. He smiles lopsidedly at the opener. 

“Evening-g, Mrs. Ortiz,” Joey nodded at her with a minute bow. “How are y-you and little girl Josie faring?”

“Oh, we’re doing fine. Johan, come in, so good to see you,” she replied, smiling back at him, ushering him through the door. “Little girl Josie has been so eager for you to come and watch her. Here she comes now.”

“JOWEY!” a small girl flung herself onto the lad, landing on his waist, gripping tightly to not slide down. “Hi, Jo’an!”

“Hello, Josie,” Johan chuckled, wrapping his arms around her in a light hug. “A-any plans for what we’ll do today?”

“Opera!” she sang, slipping down his long legs, landing on her tush on the floor, still hugging him around his legs and looking up at him. “A concert!”

“That sounds f-fun,” he grinned, waddling over to the couch. Mrs. Ortiz took her purse and coat from the stand, and waved a light goodbye that both Josie and Johan returned. “What songs are your fav-vorites?”

After a moment of intense pondering, she replied with the utmost seriousness, “All of them.”

“I like most of them,” Johan chuckled. Josie settled stuffed animals around him, patting them into place. “Are these the other p-patrons?”

“Other whats?” Josie asked inquisitively, tilting her head and squinting. “These are the other opera goers.”

“Oh, alright,” Johan smiled, settling back on the couch as Josie poofed her hair and wrapped a sparkly boa around her neck. “My, you, you look fantastic, m’little girl Josie.”

“Yep.” she beamed proudly, closing her eyes and posing. “I’m gonna open an opera house one day, and I’ll dress like this all the time.”

“I’d love to come,” he told her. “I’m sure it would be inc-incredible.”

“I know,” she shrugged with the air of a fashionista. “It will be.”

____

After Josie’s opera performance, Johan made them a quick dinner of peanut butter sandwiches, as per Josie’s request. As they munched on their food, Josie talked on and on about everything she could, about the weather, the sky, the world, school, home, anything she could explain by word of mouth. 

She yawned, signifying her tiredness, and Johan lead her by her hand to her room, changing her into her pajamas and tucking her into bed. He plucked a book from the shelf and read aloud to her until she fell asleep, and he pressed a small kiss to the top of her head, and slid down the side of her bed to study for a test or whatnot. 

There was a knock on the door, followed by Mrs. Ortiz reentering her home, and calling out a soft hello to the interior. 

Johan packed up his school things and slipped out of little girl Josie’s room, where Mrs. Ortiz greeted him, handing him some cash.

“Thank you so much, dear, and on such short notice,” she sighed, setting aside her things. She peered into Josie’s room. “My, you certainly are wonderful with children. She normally stays up to complain to me about her babysitters. You would make a great father.”

Johan was glad she could not see his face paling.

“Haha… yeah…” he tried to smile, stepping out of the door into the arid desert night. “Anyways, y-you have a g-good night, Mrs. Ortiz.”

“Thank you, Joey,” she waved him off. “See you around.”

Johan exhaled slowly as she closed the door behind him, and he began the trek home, sprinting past the used car lot, wondering if anyone left the keys in the ignition while abandoning their vehicle. He shook off the thought, not wanting to be devoured brutally before he could make it to a car that would start and drive. 

A few minutes after entering town, a pair of headlights fastened on him, a loud honk behind him. He dove to the side of the road, tucking and rolling, pulling a pen knife out of his chemistry book, before realizing that the car just slowly pulled up instead. 

The window rolled down and Abby Palmer looked down at him.

“Get in, punk. I’ll give you a lift home.”

“Thanks, Abby,” Johan gratefully said, prying himself off the cement and dusting himself off before getting into her car. “How’s college?”

“I think I’m going to have to drop it for now,” she answered coldly. Johan looked at her with shock. “Cecil. You know.”

“Oh… right…” Johan’s heart sank down to his stomach. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault.” 

There was silence aside from the tires on the road. 

“Thanks, by the way,” Abby remarked softly. “For looking out for him.”

“It’s no problem,” Joey honestly replied. “It’s what friends d-do, right?”

“Yeah… I guess. Still, thank you.”

“Thank you for the ride,” he mumbled.

“I don’t know if you should be thanking me or cursing me,” she joked, but with a glint of sincerity. “After all, with what goes on in your house… yikes.”

“Y-you… you know?” he asked disheartenedly, his heart sinking even more as he attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. “I th-thought it was c-covered up….”

“I’m sorry, kid.” she shook her head. “Not a lot of people know, but there are rumors, and those spread like wildfire.”

Joey sank in his seat, and nothing was said until they pulled up to the Ramirez estate.

Abby stirred, and turned to look at him as he got out of her car. 

“Hey.”

“Yeah…?”

“Keep your chin up, Jo. It’ll get better.”

“I hope so….”

“Tell Rico I say hi.”

“Will do.”

Johan collapsed on his bed the moment he could, shoving away the subpoenas littered on the mattress, feeling sick to his stomach.

Wonderful with children. Would make a great father. Punk, kid. 

He groaned, curling up.

He did not want any of this.

There was a light knock on his door, and a stout silhouette appeared in his doorway. 

“Hey lil’ bro,” Rico rubbed the back of his neck, making his way to Johan, carefully stepping around the scattered papers. Johan rolled over to face the wall. Rico’s sturdy weight joined Johan’s negligible one on the bed. Rico reached toward him before pulling his hand back. “How’s your back…?”

“Hurts.”

“Do you want some painkillers?”

“Not really.”

“Jo….”

“Abby says hi.”

“Johan….”

“What, Rico?” Johan grumbled, curling up tighter.

“I’m sorry, that this is all happening to you…” Rico sighed. “It’s scary, and bad, and… dammit, I wish it never happened. Especially not to you… you might not be my blood brother, but you are my family. My little brother. Not so little little brother, though. You sprouted pretty damn fast.”

“...”

“Little Joey….”

“Big Joey….” 

Rico stilled. Johan’s voice was thick with pain and bereavement. His shoulders shook minimally, unnoticeably at first, but Rico saw it.

“Jo…” he swallowed, hard. “I… I love you, little brother.”

“I-I l-love you t-t-too, b-big brother,” Johan wept. Rico hugged him, and Johan turned over to face him. “Y-you’ll help t-take care of them, right? Ricky, please… help m-me… I’m not ready t-to be a, to be a f-father….”

“I’ll help,” he assured him, laying down himself and tucking Johan’s head under his own. “I’ll help you with them.”

“P-promise?” Johan inquired pleadingly. “Promise y-you’ll help t-take care of them?”

“I promise.”


End file.
